Agricultural and institutional development in the Sahelian countries of West Africa: A real challenge in technical co-operation

Abstract

In recent years the drought in the Sahelian region of West Africa has reduced food and livestock production, and large imports of basic grains were needed for emergency relief. West African countries have requested continued food grain assistance and also technical co-operation in building viable agricultural development institutions for teaching, research and extension. This paper examines the problems of building up such institutions and successfully integrating them into the social and economic infrastructure, so that Sahelian agriculture can build up the output needed to recover from the drought and face future, adverse climatic conditions with more confidence.